Overseas collections become more important for Indian films amid COVID-19 crisis

In a recent webinar, members from the film industry including producer Siddharth Roy Kapoor and Reliance Entertainment CEO Shibasish Sarkar, discussed the post-lockdown scenario for the film business in the country. Sarkar said that releasing his big-ticket films Sooryavanshi and Ranveer Singh-starrer 83 in international markets is important. He added that makers of both ventures are looking to release the films in around 80 international markets including the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Australia and New Zealand. A bulk of overseas collections come from these markets. Overseas business has become more crucial, especially for big films during the COVID-19 crisis. Theaters will not operate  at full capacity due to social distancing norms, whenever they reopen. Hence, every market and every theatre will count so as to get maximum revenue from the theatrical business. So, what's the scenario for theatres abroad? Theatres in 50 locations in the US have reportedly opened and big chains like AMC are looking at resuming business by mid-June. In the United Kingdom, it looks like theatres may open by July. Italy has permitted reopening of theatres from June 15. How much do international markets add to a film's collection? While the majority of the business for Indian films come from the domestic market, overseas collections are still an important component. Take last year's example when around Rs 2,700 crore came from international markets. Salman Khan's Bharat had grossed Rs 80 crore from markets abroad and Gully Boy earned Rs 70 crore on foreign turf. In 2018, while Deepika Padukone's Padmaavat had minted Rs 185 crore from overseas markets, Ranbir Kapoor's Sanju had collected Rs 148 crore. This is why for Indian films, especially the big offerings, overseas business is important. In 2019, 350 films had released overseas as against 332 films in the previous year. Click here for Moneycontrol’s full coverage of the novel coronavirus pandemic